Frelga.. one of my disappointments on last years 'Great Western Adventure' 30 day trip to the West coast, is that we did not get a chance to eat din sum while we were in San Francisco. I've never had din sum and as far as I know, there's no where near here that has it. We did eat at a great Thai place that was near our hotel however. That area really does have a lot to offer in diversity--food, people, scenery, everything!

We went to a sparnfarkle (pig roast) this weekend. It was pretty tasty. They stuffed the pig with chickens and the chickens were stuffed with onions. Here it is just off the spit.

Rose: Where's here? I'm here in NJ and there's two places in very close proximity if you're interested in a day trip. If you're not on the east coast, then I got nothing for you except to recommend doing a google or Yahoo search with your zip code and the words "Dim Sum" in the search. And to go around to some of the local, more upscale Chinese restaurants. That's how I found my local places. Walked in and asked the host if they did Dim Sum and found out that they did.

Despite being in work all weekend, and having to spend over 2 hours on the road this morning to traverse a grand total of 30 miles, I've managed to create some actual food over the last two days. Some.

Last night, for supper, I made cream of veggie and wild rice soup. Leeks, fennel, and zuchinni cooked up in good chicken broth, pureed with the "boat motor" and then creamed with a bit of heavy cream. Served over some great wild rice for a nice, earthy, almost herbal flavor. I highly recommend it. Predominant spice was fresh dill, of all things, which was quite remarkable. Took a grand total of about an hour to cook, so not a bad option for a weeknight meal.

Also made a batch of Liebkuchen and a nice loaf of lemon poppy seed cake to share with the ungrateful jerks I work with. They vanished without even a customary belch of gratitude.

Breakfast for supper is something I got a lot of when I was a kid--specifically pancakes and omelets. Mom always thought they were too much work for breakfast, but we'd have them occasionally for weeknight suppers or for Saturday lunches. And then again my father and I were prone to having cold cereal for Sunday night supper. He used to make his own sometimes, a trick he learned as a kid: crackers and milk. Yes, broken-up saltines with sugar and milk! But it was sort of comfort food for him.

I had dinner with my parents last night. That is an event incompatible with dieting. Mom gets all the yummy stuff from the Russian stores in the city and there's no holding me back. Although since yesterday was a short-notice thing, the amount of food was manageable. There was borshch, of course, with mushrooms, buckwheat (the tastiest grain in the world, when handled right), and chicken with prunes, plus some salads and things. Also dark chocolate from ikea of all places and a berry tart from Trader Joe.

hamlet, I wish we could hire you. Then you could work with nice people who appreciate tasty presents.

Dim sum - I know a few good places, or at least places that used to be good when I went there with Chinese coworkers back when. It's only worth it with a large group, imo, so you can taste lots and spend little.

Impressive. Every word in that sentence was wrong.Luke Skywalker, The Last Jedi

I find that between 3-5 people is usually ideal for Dim Sum. Enough folks that you can get some variety on the table without feeling like a glutton, and few enough that there's not any fighting over who gets what.

And yeah, if I could get another job, I'd probably take it. Problem is, with things the way they are, a lot of people are pretty much stuck with what they've got, even if it's evil.

Hamlet, I live in Wisconsin.. northwest of Milwaukee. Not many Asians live here.. There are a lot of Chinese buffets though.. I'm not sure if that qualifies for Din Sum.. 'cause I really don't know what Din Sum is except that I think it means something like 'appetizers' or small plate!

When we were in Boston this Spring we asked the concierge at the hotel to direct us to a place for Din Sum.. but we must have gone to the wrong place, or, as I suspect, the only serve Din Sum on certain days/times and when we were there was NOT the right time! We were the only people in the restaurant and none of the staff spoke English. When we said 'Din Sum' they gave us a little check card menu.. but since we didn't know what anything was.. we only ordered some dumplings & then we ordered meals off of the regular menu.

I just checked online and there is only one listing in Milwaukee for Din Sum and the reviews are horrible. It is also ordered from a menu.. is that what Din Sum is? The comments say the closest place to get good Din Sum is Chicago.. that's a several hour drive from here.

Sparnfarkle is the German word for a pig roast. This area is heavily settled by people of German ancestry.

As for 'layered' animals.. Turduckens (Chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey) are a gourmet trend, although I've never had one. The sparnfarkle pig is often stuffed (around here) with bratwurst, a type of German pork sausage.

Haha, no offense RoseMorninStar but I personally could never eat that pig...It looks like its still alive..... But I'm glad it was delicious for you dear. Also I agree, lemon poppyseed cake/bread is certainly delicious!

Tonight it was pizza. Yay for party food! It was voted the 'best pizza in town' or something to that effect, but it was actually just average. The crust was too chewy and there wasn't enough of the actual pizza.

Mr JudyA and I had a night out yesterday, and I took him to a Sydney institution - The Malaya. It's been open for almost 50 years and the menu is chock-full of flavoursome, spicy food, obviously with a focus on Malaysian cuisine.

Mr JudyA had a vegetable san choy bow followed by an asparagus kerabu - asparagus with honey peas and Chinese mushroom stir-fried with garlic, fresh coconut and chilli. I had one of the signature dishes for entree called Roti Jala - a Malaysian-style crepe stuffed with fab minced lamb, potato, onion, peas and chilli and covered in curry sauce. For main course I had lightly battered and perrrrrrfectly cooked salt and pepper squid. Yum, yum and yum.

Tonight we took Poppet out for dinner as the Little Fairy is away on a camp. We went to a local Italian place and started with crispy flatbread and dips. I had lamb fourno (slow-cooked and salty) with lots of veg, Mr JudyA had a spring vegetable risotto and Poppet had a great margherita pizza with a lovely, slightly puffy crust.

Needless to say, I feel as though I am digesting almost all the time

Tomorrow if I feel keen I'll be making nachos for dinner - beef for me and Poppet and vego for Mr JudyA. Assuming I have any appetite, of course...

Rose, for me a typical Dim Sum is in a huge banquet type hall with medium to large tables. Ladies/men wheel around steam carts that have one or two types of dumplings indeed, but other meat rolls, shrimp, veggies and such. You take a plate from the cart. Sometimes the plate has 4 to 6 of what ever they were rolling about and you share with others at the table. At the end of the night, the plates are counted and that is how it is usually paid for. The people with the carts are constantly wheeling new, hot and fresh things all the time. In Chinatown in San Francisco we rarely had to wait for something new. And it is delicious.

That said, I have had it elsewhere and it was on a smaller scale, where you did actually order from a card...but the same sort of food. I hope you get to have a real great dim sum experience.

Rose, I would have sat at a chair right by the big ol' pig and got the crispy skin right off it. I am not turned off in the least by a whole roasted pig...The one in the photo looks like it had really well crispied up skin. YUM.

Morwenna, I will check out your fair menus in the cooking guild. And I have actually had bacon dipped in chocolate...can't say it was a favorite, but it wasn't too bad...tasted like salty chocolate.

hamlet OR we could all go to San Francisco Chinatown for Dim Sum Or NYC.

Last night I made tacos....I have so much left over guacamole and pico!! I need to make something else Mexican so that I can use it up. The guacamole won't last long!! So I am thinking to make a salad out of the leftovers for tonight.

We tried chocolate covered bacon back in 2010 in Michigan and it wasn't bad. I love chocolate covered peanuts and has that same salty/bacon taste in a way. I think the stuff is too darn expensive to want to buy but it wasn't bad.

Last night I made myself an egg, bacon and cheese Wrap for dinner. It was good!!!

Spring come quickly!!~*Sister of the Twilight*~~*Daughter of the Moon*~

rwhennie.. you would have died & gone to heaven. They asked if anyone wanted the skin for crackin's but no one did. I think they threw it away.

SOMEDAY I'll have real din sum.. some day.. I'll have to look for it next time we are on vacation in a big city. A city on one of the coasts. There are not so many Chinese inland.. and so, not as many authentic Chinese eateries. We mostly have buffets.

Costco chicken last night, with the side of quinoa. It was quite good. It might go into a stir-fry tonight.

There are pretty good Russian delis in San Francisco. Restaurants too, but they tend to cater to Russians rather than Americans, and some are hit and miss. There is a fantastic bakery, though. They made the cake for my grandma last year, it was gorgeous and made with delicious marzipan which was as pretty as the tasteless fondant, and much yummier.

Impressive. Every word in that sentence was wrong.Luke Skywalker, The Last Jedi